Engaging Latinos through the integration of cultural values and motivational interviewing principles.

Abstract

A rapidly growing Latino population challenges the U.S. mental health system. Despite a high service need, significant disparities in access to care have resulted in patterns of low utilization and frequent dropout. Furthermore, natural ambivalence as individuals access a traditionally underutilized source of support may further compromise the effective therapeutic engagement of Latinos. Thus, practitioners and researchers seek to identify means by which to enhance service delivery for this historically underserved population. Following the demonstrated efficacy of motivational interviewing with highly ambivalent client populations and drawing on the authors' clinical experiences with monolingual Spanish-speaking Latinos in a community mental health setting, this article describes the application of motivational interviewing principles to 3 Latino cultural values and offers clinical practice recommendations to help create a client-centered and culturally congruent therapeutic milieu.

Exploratory factor analysis of borderline personality disorder criteria in monolingual Hispanic outpatients with substance use disorders

“…Finally, Hispanic culture has been characterized as having distinct gender-role expectations, such as machismo for men and marianismo for women (Andrés-Hyman et al, 2006). Given their importance in Hispanic populations, researchers have recommended that these values be understood and utilized in clinical work with Latino groups (Bracero, 1998; Falicov, 1998; Santiago-Rivera et al, 2002; Añez et al, 2005; Andrés-Hyman et al, 2006; Añez et al, 2008). …”

Variations in meanings of the personal core value “Health”

“…Additionally, researchers have studied shared cultural values for supporting or deterring health related actions for AIDS prevention [32] end-of-life care [33], mammography initiation and maintenance [34], and mental health [35]. Values may influence behaviors directly by promoting or discouraging behavior [36]or indirectly by influencing the valence assigned to some other factor (e.g.…”

Outcome expectations and associated treatment outcomes in motivational enhancement therapy delivered in English and Spanish

“…In the Latino psychotherapy literature, the cultural values of personalismo and formalismo may be related to treatment processes, which in turn impact outcomes. 29,30 Personalismo has been defined as responsiveness to the personal quality of relationships as well as an orientation toward personal relationships rather than impersonal ones, while formalismo has been defined by values of respect and deference within relationships. 31 While these cultural values were not assessed in this study, it may be that they facilitated the association between outcome expectations and substance use treatment outcomes.…”